Bedrosian promoted, Kohn demoted to Minors

By Alden Gonzalez / MLB.com

HOUSTON -- It's rare to go from Class A Advanced to the Major Leagues in two months.

Unless, of course, you're striking out almost two batters an inning.

That's what No. 13 prospect Cam Bedrosian was doing in the Minor Leagues this year, and that's basically why he was called up for his Major League debut on Tuesday. The move was done in large part because fellow reliever Michael Kohn, optioned to Triple-A Salt Lake to clear a spot on the roster, needs to work out some kinks in his delivery.

But Bedrosian strapped a jetpack to his Major League timeline, posting a 1.22 ERA while striking out 45 batters in 24 innings for Class A Inland Empire and Double-A Arkansas.

"This has happened really quickly," said Bedrosian, son of Steve Bedrosian, who won the 1987 National League Cy Young Award as a member of the Phillies. "I didn't expect this at all."

Kohn has a 3.05 ERA in 25 innings, but he has also walked 7.6 batters per nine innings and has struggled since a 17-appearance scoreless streak, giving up six runs in 4 1/3 innings.

Manager Mike Scioscia said Kohn "needs to find his delivery," and that "his upside is more than us just trying to get him in innings right now to try to get back in sync, so it'll be good for him to go down there and work some things out."

Scioscia, currently with a six-man bullpen because Matt Shoemaker can momentarily provide some length, would ideally like to get Bedrosian in some low-leverage situations to "get his feet wet" -- but his mid- to high-90s fastball and wipeout slider can translate to the back end of the bullpen.

"Cam has been on our radar for a while now, and our player-development people have been putting a lot of time on him, getting a lot of evaluations and paying a lot of attention to just exactly where he is," Scioscia said. "I think everybody's comfortable with the fact that he's making his pitches and his stuff will play in the big leagues."

Bedrosian was plucked out of high school in Georgia with the 29th overall pick in the 2010 First Year Player Draft, then underwent Tommy John surgery the following April, struggled as a starting pitcher in 2012, was moved to the bullpen in 2013, posted a 4.57 ERA in 63 innings at both Class A levels and watched his stock skyrocket in a matter of nine weeks.

Bedrosian made his Major League debut in the sixth inning of the Halos' 7-2 loss, getting a strikeout and two groundouts to second base -- with his parents, sister and brother watching from the stands.

"I wouldn't be where I am without them," Bedrosian said. "They're my support. It's great having them here."

Sore back likely to sideline Trout on Wednesday

HOUSTON -- Mike Trout thought he was past feeling any discomfort in his back, but the Angels' superstar center fielder was removed from Tuesday's 7-2 loss to the Astros after just one inning and will get re-evaluated on Wednesday.

Trout, who is batting .293/.379/.546 this season, didn't play Saturday and Sunday in Oakland due to tightness around the middle of his back. He got some treatment during the team's off day on Monday, took early batting practice at Minute Maid Park's indoor cage on Tuesday and said pregame that he "didn't feel it at all."

Early on in the game, though, "I felt something," Trout said. "It's the same thing I've been feeling for a couple of days and I didn't want to push it." Trout added that he's "not too concerned" because "it's made progress over the last few days, so it's obviously getting better."

The 22-year-old likely won't play on Wednesday, and the Angels will hope that it isn't a prolonged injury.

"It wasn't quite where he thought it could be, and as he got out there it was getting a little bit tight on him," manager Mike Scioscia said. "We'll definitely take a half-step back here and find out exactly what's going on."

After coming out of the game, Trout was seen by a doctor, who told him it was nothing major, at Minute Maid Park.

"It's frustrating for me," Trout said. "I want to be out there, but on the other side, I want to be able to play, fully healthy, and I don't want to risk anything."

Trout struck out against right-hander Collin McHugh in the first, capping a seven-pitch at-bat, then played defense in the bottom half but nothing was hit to him. In the bottom of the second, he was replaced by Collin Cowgill.

Trout said he just "didn't feel comfortable," and he has no idea how these back issues started in the first place.

"There's a lot of things you can say it was," Trout said. "Maybe the adrenaline was rushing in that [Sean] Doolittle at-bat [on Friday] and I didn't feel 'til the next morning, but I couldn't tell you."

De La Rosa activated, optioned to Triple-A

HOUSTON -- Having exceeded his limit for a rehab assignment, the Angels activated reliever Dane De La Rosa off the disabled list and optioned him to Triple-A Salt Lake on Tuesday.

Pitchers on the DL can't be on a rehab assignment longer than 30 days -- it's 20 days for position players -- and Monday marked De La Rosa's 30th day with the Salt Lake Bees, a team he'll continue to pitch for without accruing Major League service time.

De La Rosa, 31, posted a 2.86 ERA while leading the Angels with 75 relief appearances last season, but he has dealt with injuries throughout 2014. The journeyman right-hander was affected by a forearm strain in Spring Training, experienced a sharp dip in velocity during his season debut on April 12 and has spent the rest of the time recovering from irritation in his right sternoclavicular joint.

De La Rosa began his rehab assignment on May 4, shut it down for a week and a half from May 11-20, then posted a 5.14 ERA in seven one-inning appearances upon returning. Manager Mike Scioscia has seen improvements out of De La Rosa over the last couple weeks, but the organization doesn't believe he's "quite where he was when he was a major player in our bullpen last year."

"I think it's everything about repeating pitches to his command, getting guys out," Scioscia said. "His velocity is picking up to where it's not that much of a difference. Maybe it's not that explosive 95 or 96 [mph] that he showed, but he's certainly throwing the ball hard enough that if he hits his spots he can be effective. It's about getting guys out right now, and I think he's working towards that."

Worth noting

• The Yankees claimed left-handed starter Wade LeBlanc off waivers from the Angels on Tuesday. The 29-year-old was out of options when he signed a Minor League contract in the offseason and posted a 3.69 ERA in nine Triple-A starts. He was called up to provide some length, then was designated for assignment after giving up four runs in 6 1/3 innings against the A's on Friday because the Angels needed bullpen coverage for the next two days.

• Matt Shoemaker is currently slated to start Saturday's game against the White Sox. Shoemaker's regular turn through the order would've come on Wednesday, but the Angels used the Monday off-day to push him back, allowing them to temporarily go with a six-man bullpen. Shoemaker can be available in relief through Wednesday. Jered Weaver, who started Sunday, is expected to take the ball on his normal four days' rest on Friday.